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Ken: Depending on the characters used it can mean, “in addition or concurrently; matter or item; sword or bayonet or swordsmanship [剣]; prefecture; authority; ticket or coupon; sphere or circle; strength or firmness or armor; Fist [拳],” or a few other translations according to the character/ideograph. In addition its use can be related to any number of area’s within the Japanese domain according to where one is and what culture is dominant, etc. In this use, article, Ken is used to denote both the sword and the fist.
Ki [気]: Also according to what characters/ideographs are used this can mean, “Spirit or mind or heart or nature or motivation or essence, etc.,; tree or wood or timber; yellow; account or history or record,” and so on but for this article is means, “Spirit (mind, heart, nature, intention, etc.).”
Tai [体]: Tai also comes in a few different flavors but for this article it means, “Body, physique, posture, shape, form, style, substance, identity, reality.”
Ichi [一]: Ichi as well has a variety but for this article it means, “One (best in; the most (…) in (where adj follows).”
This article is derived from an article presented by Dave Lowry in the most recent edition of, “Black Belt” magazine. Normally, I will see the BB mag on the shelf, pick it up and flip through to see what content it has and then most of the time put it back. This is one month where I actually forked over some bucks to read several of the articles if for no other reason then to see what they said regarding the articles topics.
First is, “A Perfect Strike in Japanese Arts,” by Dave Lowry.
Second is, “Dave Grossman on the Psychology of Combat.” by Mark Jacobs.
Third is, “Martial Arts Books that made History,” by Dave Lowry.
Fourth is, “Civil Liability in Self-Defense,” by Frank Gannon.
This article is on the story by Dave Lowry as listed first above, i.e., the story is about striking as it pertains to the phrase, “Ken Ki Tai Ichi.” I provided separate definitions at the start of the article just to get that stuck in the background of your mind while you read on.
I can say that I have studied and learned a great deal about martial arts, academically speaking since I have not met or trained with Mr. Lowry, from his writings both in his monthly article in BB and more so in his books found and available from Amazon. This phrase is a new one for me and it can be found more from the practice of the sword of Japan, the Katana in Kendo or Iaido, etc.
As I ready Mr. Lowry’s article it occurred to me that what he was presenting was a means to describe, historically speaking as to terms, etc., the use of fundamental principles to achieve that perfect strike.
Perfect Strike, is not one of those things you can master toward its application every single time but is rather a goal to achieve for the make that perfect strike is one of those things practice and training are about. When you begin to learn and understand what it takes to achieve that perfect strike you find there are so many variables that can bleed of energy resulting in a loss of force and power in a chaotic environment called combat, fighting and self-defense it is a wonder systems like karate ever truly work.
The definition of ken-ki-tai-ichi that I derived from Mr. Lowry’s article is, “One’s weapon in a perfect alignment with one’s spirit or energy and one’s body culminating into one holistic application in a coordinated action applied at the same time and moment.” Mr. Lowry simplifies it into, “One’s weapon (Ken, which can be written to refer to a sword or a fist but which really applies to any weapon), one’s spirit or energy and one’s body must all be ichi - ONE. All must be employed in coordination and at that the same time.”
What I appreciated about Mr. Lowry’s article is its reference to one of the principles you read and see and hear in almost all martial disciplines, i.e., “Yin-Yang,” where he also writes about the other side of ken-ki-tai-ichi in that one must destroy an adversary’s application of ken-ki-tai-ichi. I liked his references to, “Making the perfect strike, one that destroys not only an adversary’s attack but also his will to fight and his physical ability to do so.”
When I think of this phrase it reminds me of principle based training with a goal of learning and applying principles that bring together into one the spirit, body and mind of the practitioner to reach the goals of self-defense. The ability to apply balance, structure, alignment, etc. into that one holistic application using any appropriate technique through proper tactics and strategies so that the most force and power are applied to any given situation and moment toward success in defense.
The entire theory of practice is achieving “one wholehearted” mastery of one’s discipline regardless of its cultural connections along with individualized interpretations so that it uses principles that transcend such trappings.
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